Sky-Watcher Classic 200 Dobsonian 8-inch Telescope – Solid-Tube – Simple, Traditional Design – Easy to Use, Perfect for Beginners, White (S11610)

Bought a 10" Dobsonian Sky-Watcher. Came in yesterday at 6:00 pm; two days ahead of schedule. Also bought a Shorty 1.25 2X Barlow lens, a 2X 2" Focal Extender, and a LaserMate Deluxe II Telescope Laser Collimator. I'm thinking about the Q70 (70 degrees) set of three eyepieces or the Explore Scientific 82 degree 2" eyepiece. I'm leaning toward the 82 Degree 2" eyepiece.So far I am pleased with my new telescope. It was easy to assemble, and everything went together perfectly. I was intending to adjust my finder scope today, but it is raining. Maybe tomorrow?This scope is quite an upgrade from my 4" I bought over 15 years ago. It came with a 1.25 wide angle 25mm lens, and a 1.25 super 10mm lens. I can't wait to get my 2" wide angle.I gave this scope 5 stars because it is so well made. After I actually use it, I will either leave it a 5 stars or downgrade it.************************************************************************************************************************************************************Well, after a week of rain and/or cloudy skies, I finally used my scope. I collimated it with my laser collimator and tried to focus on Venus. The best view I could get was a big unfocused white ball. I tried recollimating the scope to no avail. In fact. the only thing I could focus on were the leaves on a tree 60 meters away.. Anything beyond that was hopeless.I order a Solomark Chesire Collimating Eyepiece which will come in two days. I hope this solves the problem. I hate to think I paid $600.00 to look at leaves.I'm leaving my rating at 5 stars because I'm thinking my problem is human error and/or the laser collimator. I'll try again in a few days to collimate my scope and hopefully see a wonderful view of the stars and planets.***********************************************************************************************************************************************************Well, I received my Solomark Chesire Collimating Eyepiece. However, again it is raining. I collimated my scope to see if I could further the distance beyond 60 meters, but it was still not focusing properly.I would say when all else fails to go to the instructions, but the instructions in the manual are lacking. One thing caught my eye in the parts list; something I didn't notice the first time. And that is: the focuser has a 2" inch adapter, not a built-in 2" lens holder. Duh! All this time I thought the focuser was one piece. I have been stacking the 1.25 adapter on top of the 2" adapter.I took out the 2" adapter, inserted the 1.25 adapter the 25mm wide angle lens, and the focus was perfect.I notice that someone else was/is having the same problem as I, and he gave this scope a bad rating. I bet he was doing the same thing; double stacking adapters.If anyone else is having a problem with focusing their Dobsonian reflector, try taking out the 2" adapter and insert the 1.25".My rating for this scope stays at five stars.***************************************************************************************************************************************************About two weeks after receiving my scope, I finally was able to use it last night. The craters on the moon were awesome. The stars jumped out at me. I plan to view the Orion nebula and Andromeda galaxy at the end of December, when Andromeda will be directly overhead one hour after sunset. There will be less atmosphere to see through.This scope deserves 5 stars, and that is where I'm leaving it. There may be those who have larger scopes and are no longer impressed with a ten inch, but, until I can afford a bigger scope, I'm happy with this one.The problems I had, at the beginning, are no reflection on the scope itself; the problems arose from poor instructions and description. When it says the scope has a 2" focuser and a 1.25" adapter, it is understandable that you would assume the focuser is one piece and cannot be separated, and that you would insert the 1.25" adapter into the 2" focuser to use a 1.25" lens. That was why I could not focus on anything more than 60 meters away. The laser collimator wasn't part of the problem, either. So, I have nothing bad to say about it.For those who can afford this scope, it is a great buy.***********************************************************************************************************************************************************Well, here it is; December 31, and between the rain and cloudiness, I've only viewed the moon and Jupiter, and stars. The mountains on the moon's rim are impressive against the black background of space, and the bands of Jupiter are fantastic. At 167 million miles away, Mars only looks like a red star. I'll have to wait until July 2018, when Mars is 38 million miles away. Maybe then I'll be able to see it's polar caps. Saturn will be in the night sky this June. Soon as I catch a clear night, I'm going to try and locate the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy.This scope is everything it claims to be. I built a 9 inch high portable wooden base to raise the scope at a more comfortable level. I also keep the scope in my 12X16 tool shed so it is ready for use without having to wait long for it to acclimate.I have noticed the price went up on the scope. I'm glad I bought it when I did. Still, at the current price, it is a good buy.*******************************************************************************************************************************************************3-13-17 The price has gone down more. Buy this scope; i.e. unless you can afford a larger primary mirror.Two weeks ago I finally bought a 2 inch SF 18mm eyepiece to use with my 2 inch SF Barlow. I viewed the Orion Nebula and Pleiades star cluster. They are fantastic.Yesterday I received a set of four Gosky (red, green, yellow, blue) planetary filters, which can be stacked. I hope they bring out more detail when viewing.I'm already yearning for a bigger scope with a tracking system so I can use a camera. Still, I am not sorry I bought this scope. It is a great telescope for the money.June 28, 2017:It is a good time to view Saturn and its rings. With my 10" (using a 2" 18mm eyepiece coupled with a 2" 2x focal extender) I can see one slight division in Saturn's ring making two large rings. Also, Titan can be seen.Jupiter's bands are clearly noticeable, and it's four largest moons are like bright stars. I watched Io pass Europa in orbit (over a period of 1.5 hours).I'm waiting for Mars to be its closest in 2018.The more I use this scope, the more I feel it is money well spent.July 31, 2018:Well, I finally took a look at Mars tonight. It is as bright as Venus, though only two-thirds as big. I could make out light grey areas in the bright red color. You need a bigger scope if you want to see any details.I'm still pleased with this scope. It is a great starter scope, but I'm ready for an upgrade.

I'm gonna level with you:This thing gets an incredible bang for the buck.First off: This thing is massive. And I mean huge. But it's worth it. I got this specifically so I could look at nebula and other deep sky objects. And honestly the difference between this and pretty much every other telescope I've ever owned is impressive. The Orion nebula popped right into view with exquisite detail. The Andromeda Galaxy was spectacular to see as well.As for the routine operations, once I bought a laser collimator for this, my overall performance increased as well. Aligning the mirrors is a cake walk and the stability of the mirrors is a big benefit.The next thing that needs to be discussed is the mount.While it is huge, this thing is smooth as silk. With other telescopes even me breathing wrong will make the image bounce and shake. With this thing, I can smoothly guide the telescope into position and make minor adjustments without loosing focus or the object I'm viewing.I think the only thing this telescope really lacks is an altazimuth scale. It makes tracking in and finding objects at first a bit of a pain. Especially if aligning things for the first time. But it's a minor gripe.The viewfinder allows for 2 different sizes. 1.25 and the larger set. Which is good if you're dealing with specialty lenses. And the focus itself can be locked into place so you don't accidentally bump the assembly and lose focus.Breaking this down is easy, but transportation starts becoming a problem due to its large size and the bulky base. But it's a minor trade off that does not significantly affect its overall portability. Besides, what problems are introduced in slight portability issues are more than compensated for in sheer stability.If you're new to astronomy and want something that will bring the wonders of our galaxy to you, this is it. Buy this alone and you'll not want for a new telescope for years. It's easy as sin to use and it's guaranteed to bring you some great viewing.

Tube is bent, mount is shattered. Buy from the manufacturer.

First photo is spiral galaxy M83. Second photo is Saturn with subtle division ring. Third is galaxy NGC5238 (at the left of the center).I manage to capture the M83 with my iPhone 6 and spiralCam app. It takes about a minute to see the spiral arm. Overall the telescope is great. The thing to improve on will be the sight scope. It fall off a few times and hit my feet once. It is inserted into the telescope from the bottom up so it has the tendency to drop off after several use and storage. The 2 feature-tension control handles are not necessary for my use and scratch my leg when I walk past the scope. In the end, I remove them and store away. I use the Dobsonian in a very small balcony.I have also add a planter plate with wheels which I get from Ikea for US$5. It is almost perfect for the big scope.The assembly is not as easy. It takes me about 2 hours with lots of strength to tighten the screws into the wood. It should be designed to be assembled easily like Ikea furniture.For design it is not as good looking as the Meade dobsonian. Skywatcher could have make their product look better. Most of the time, 99%, the telescope is not in use and displayed as a "furniture" in the home so it is very important on how it looks. It is definitely the most practical and accurate scope that I have.